On Tuesday, Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s federal financial monitoring service added Meta to its list of extremist and terrorist organizations, according to Interfax.
The decision means that Meta’s remaining services like Instagram and WhatsApp are expected to shut down in the country shortly.
In March, Russia blocked access to Facebook due to “discrimination,” after the social-media platform restricted access to government-backed news outlets like Sputnik and Russia Today.
Later the same month, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office requested for Meta to be labeled as an “extremist organization” under law.
Meta appealed the decision, but a court in Moscow rejected it after Meta was found guilty of “extremist activity” in Russia.
